Category: Anniversaries
It was our 10-year anniversary (of making ‘googly eyes, as J. likes to say) and we decided to visit Ashland. Always a favorite, and also the first vacation we took together all those years ago.
Today is our nine year anniversary. Amazing to think its been that long. I know that much of the reason we are still together is because of his strength and unwavering faith that I am ‘the one’ during the times when I was not so sure. And since we’re actually getting *married* this year, it’s like we’ve done the hard work already.
Back in early March, J. and I went down to Marina del Rey –the Venice Beach area of Los Angeles — for another working vacation. He’d be working, I’d be taking another (much needed) vacation, complete with personal training, long walks to the beach and along the beach, and some spa time. It was our anniversary (eight years!) and we thought we’d do something a little special.
That was the plan.
Lisa and I just got back from Sumter, SC, where we helped celebrate my parents’ 50th Anniversary. I think it says something that I saw this event as inevitable and so many others see it as extraordinary, but I don’t know what, exactly, is being said. In any case, my folks seemed pleased with what their kids cooked up for them, so we can chalk this one up in the “success” column.
We put Sasha into Soos Creek Kennel on Thursday night. This was not a perfunctory event – no, there was gnashing of teeth and rending of garb for both of us as we pondered the options. It turns out, we’re doting parents. Who’da thunk? I even floated the idea of taking her with us, but Lisa wisely pointed out that two round-trip flights, with layovers, was far more stress than Sasha would experience hanging out in her run for 4-ish days. So, into the kennel she went, along with her squidgy, he medicine ball, a bone, and one of her Chuck-It balls. We shall return to this point later.
The humans got going at 0-dark-thirty the next morning, settling in to our 6:30AM departure from SeaTac. The day of traveling was without incident, including our 3-hour layover in Chicago and the ~3-hour drive from Charlotte to Sumter, SC. It turned out that Lisa even knew where to get quality food in O’Hare and, coincidence of coincidences, our gate was 2 down from it! For the record, we got paninis at Tapenade, and they were nummy. We got to Sumter by about 10:00PM local time. Linda and her family were already there, so Lisa got to meet the last of my sibs (she and Ed met a couple years ago when we last visited the homestead). Hawkeye and Johnny were very sweet, taking to Lisa immediately. For that matter, so did Dave and Linda, but I guess I trusted the adults to recognize my genius in selecting a mate. :p